Blogs from Indonesia, Asia - page 521

PS Day 62 - we crossed the equator in Sumatra between Pekanburu and Bukittinggi. We'd hoped for some sort of marker we could straddle for photos, but there were none. Apparently there are disputes about exactly where the equator lies. The hotel we stayed at in Bukittinggi was one of the worst we have had. The only communal area was a tiled lobby with plastic covered seating, liberally sprinkled with burnholes. Breakfast was served here - strong black tea accompanied by sandwiches of sweet bread sandwiches filled with neon green jam, squeezed from a tube round the edge of the bread, with a cross in the centre. The following day, there was a choice of red, orange and green - no difference in the taste - just the virrulent colour. The runaway in the basin in ... read more

Penny Pinchers This is my third blog for today! A lot has happened I guess. So this evening I chilled out with my fellow dive buddies. The 2 American girls were telling us about their travels through Flores. There story was so different to mine, they apparently got ripped off everywhere they went?. I told them I thought this was strange as I hadn't found the Flores people to be dishonest, quite the opposite in fact, I kept getting free stuff?. At first I thought to myself that it was probably one of the girls sour faces and miserable attitude that got them ripped off left right and centre, but later on I found out what they considered being ripped off to be. For instance they would ask the price of the bus journey and everyones ... read more

A holiday from travelling in Paradise?... Initially I had planned to have a 12 day break in Bali, book into a nice resort with a pool etc and just relax from what I knew would be a gruelling schedule, recharge the batteries and read up on Australia, my next stop. Yeah I know tough life, who needs a holiday from travelling!! What I mean in reality is that I just decided to stay in one hotel or guest house for longer than 3 days without packing up all my belongings and plodding on to the next place. Bearing in mind Bali just isn't that big a place, where better to chill out, top up the tan and unwind a bit (At least that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!) In Singapore I realised I was ... read more

Hi family and friends afar, thanks for the replies to our last entry. It's really great to hear from you, and not just so we can gloat about not shovelling snow. Adventuring is great, but it does great a bit lonely at times. Kevan, this entry is especially for you, because I know you are planning a Bali trip. If that is still on, you would be hard pressed to find a lovlier place. Arriving at Alam Shanti, our first hotel, was absolutely magical. Hundreds of flickering torches and candles lead through a garden filled with statues of Hindu deities and lotus pools. Tuberose, frangipane, and incense perfumed the night, which was filled with the chirps of frogs and squeaks of geckos on their evening hunting. The hotel is on the outskirts of Ubud, very peaceful. ... read more

Labuanbajo... This morning I got on the bus to Labuanbajo, scheduled to last 10 hours! The bus wasn't too bad, of course the big fat policeman had to sit next to me. I was squashed between him and the window and he chain smoked the whole way. He and everyone else on the bus was really nice though. I got bought mango's, cigarettes, water...I guess I was a bit of a novelty, tourist on the local bus. I was the only person on the bus with a penknife though, imperative with only mango's to eat! Without my penknife in its pretty pink leather case the whole bus may have gone hungry. This bus journey seemed to last forever, everytime we got to the top of a mountain I would hope to see the sea but instead ... read more